Microsoft has devised a system to massively cut back the quantity of VRAM required by ray tracing in video games, doubtlessly which means that we don’t have to preserve piling increasingly more reminiscence onto future graphics playing cards. If it will get carried out into loads of video games, it may very well be excellent news for homeowners of Nvidia and AMD graphics playing cards with lower than 12GB of reminiscence, as these typically battle with the calls for of ray tracing in at present’s video games, even when the GPU can sustain.
Nvidia and AMD have taken very completely different approaches in the case of VRAM and GPU energy in at present’s finest graphics playing cards, with Nvidia going laborious on ray tracing efficiency, however not offering sufficient VRAM to accompany GPUs such because the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB. In the meantime, AMD’s newest GPUs typically have a great deal of VRAM, however lack comparative ray tracing energy. Nvidia’s strategy might repay if this concept from Microsoft bears fruit, although.
In my very own testing, I’ve discovered that having a restricted quantity of VRAM can severely impression ray tracing efficiency, with body charges falling off a cliff. As a living proof, the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB drops proper all the way down to a mean of 57fps (with a 29fps minimal) in Doom Everlasting at Extremely Nightmare settings with ray tracing enabled. Comparatively, the 16GB Intel Arc A770 averages 189fps in the identical check, not as a result of its GPU is extra highly effective (it isn’t), however as a result of it has the reminiscence to deal with it.
It’s a scenario that Microsoft hopes to handle with a brand new patent, which outlines a variable strategy to the standard of element in a ray traced scene, just like the way in which video games differ texture and geometry element already. The patent refers to a course of that assesses the extent of element (LOD) in a scene earlier than it’s ray traced, based mostly on a hierarchy of objects – principally, there’s no have to ray hint difficult particulars that you simply’re unlikely to note, maybe as a result of they’re small or far-off within the scene.
Step one is to “retrieve a primary degree of element worth from a degree of element residency map for a sub-tree equivalent to a bounding quantity hierarchy of objects.” The pipeline then determines a second degree of element worth for this sub-tree, and a remaining degree of element is then decided by evaluating the 2 outcomes, and it’s this knowledge that’s saved in VRAM and ray traced.
“To have a extra manageable pool [of data],” says the patent, “the acceleration constructions could be managed with ranges of element for various geometry segments resident within the random entry reminiscence (RAM). This may be enhanced by letting the graphics processing unit (GPU) decide, in a present body N, the projected dimension of every bounding quantity within the acceleration construction that’s hit by major rays.”
Though the patent, as noticed by Tom’s {Hardware}, is primarily involved with reminiscence footprint, relatively than uncooked ray tracing efficiency, lowering the quantity of VRAM utilized by ray tracing might have a huge effect on gaming efficiency on playing cards with 8GB or much less. Because the patent notes, a number of elements of the 3D graphics pipeline, resembling textures and geometry, are already competing laborious for reminiscence area, and ray tracing typically makes it hit a ceiling.
That is solely a patent for now, in fact, and it could be some time earlier than its concepts are carried out (if ever), nevertheless it’s nice to see strikes for video games to make use of much less VRAM whereas nonetheless enabling ray tracing.
Within the meantime, for those who’re planning to construct a gaming PC, we solely suggest choosing 8GB or decrease on a sub-$300 1080p gaming card, such because the Radeon RX 7600 or GeForce RTX 4060. For the rest you need not less than 12GB, or ideally 16GB, particularly for those who plan to allow ray tracing.
